As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools and Learning Environments and Research Network, or LE&RN, projects are hosting a 60-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on March 29, 2012, at 8 p.m. EDT. Misconceptions about black holes will be addressed, as participants learn background information about the structure and behavior of one of the universe’s most mysterious and spectacular bodies. Learn how to derive the equations used in the Black Hole Math problem set for students to better understand the physics of black holes.
Video Chat TODAY: Starry, Starry Night
Today, Dr. Michelle Thaller from Goddard Space Flight Center will answer student questions from 1 – 2 p.m. EDT. Dr. Thaller’s research interests are hot stars, colliding stellar winds, binary star evolution and evolved stellar companions. Don’t miss this opportunity to have your students ask Dr. Thaller about her research and the path that led her to NASA.
Big Sunspot Remains Active
Teach About the Sun During Solar Week – March 19-23, 2012
Solar Week Spring 2012, March 19-23 is a lively week of online activities and curriculum for students about the sun, including games and lesson plans for the whole week. In addition, there’s a message board where your classroom can submit a question to leading solar scientists.
Link to the NES Virtual Campus sign in page.
Space Math Problems — Solar Storms
How do NASA scientists use geometry and measurement to predict the behavior of dangerous solar storms?
Use the problems in the NES featured lesson, Geometry: Space Math Problems — Solar Storms, to bring relevance to your classroom by connecting your lesson to recent solar activity. In these problems, students analyze images of a solar tsunami and use geometry and measurement skills to find the speed of the wave. They step into the shoes of a NASA scientist and use geometry to find the speed of a coronal mass ejection, or CME, also known as a solar storm. CMEs can have hazardous effects on the International Space Station and astronauts.
Sunspot 1429 Releases Two More M-Class Flares
Every day our Earth experiences storms of all kinds including one type of storm that we often don’t realize we are experiencing — a solar storm. Thanks to our protective atmosphere and magnetic field called the magnetosphere, we’re safe from the dangers of solar storms.
On March 10, 2012, the sun released another two M-class flares. One, rated as an M5.4, peaked at 12:27 a.m. EST. The second, rated as an M 8.4, peaked at 12:44 p.m. EST.These two flares came from the same active region on the sun, designated number 1429, that has already produced three X-class and numerous M-class flares over the past week.
On March 8, 2012 at 10:53 p.m. EST the sun erupted with an M6.3 class flare, and about an hour later released a coronal mass ejection or CME. These eruptions came from active region 1429 that has so far produced two X class flares, and numerous M-class flares.
NASA’s Space Weather Center models measure the CME traveling at speeds of over 700 miles per second.
The Sun — Impact of Solar Activity on Earth
Knowing when a solar flare, or CME, is going to occur is important for our satellites in orbit, for astronauts in space, and even for power companies on the ground. Instruments on board satellites now improve these predictions.
Should we be concerned about recent solar storms?
Link to the NES Virtual Campus home page.
Auroras Underfoot: Flying Through a Geomagnetic Storm
Lately, the International Space Station has been flying through geomagnetic storms, giving astronauts an close-up view of the aurora borealis just outside their windows.
Link to the NES Virtual Campus home page.
Two CMEs Reach Earth's Magnetosphere
The leading edge of the March 6 coronal mass ejection, or CME, reached NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer, or ACE satellite at 5:42 a.m. EST this morning. ACE sits just outside of Earth’s magnetic environment, the magnetosphere. As magnetic fields from the CMEs connected up to the magnetosphere, instruments on Earth began to measure changes in our planet’s magnetic fields – indicating the onset of a geomagnetic storm.
NASA models using data from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, and the Solar Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO have now provided more information about the two CMEs associated with the March 6 flares. The first is traveling faster than 1,300 miles per second; the second more than 1,100 miles per second. NASA’s models predict that the CMEs will impact both Earth and Mars, as well as pass by several NASA spacecraft – Messenger, Spitzer, and STEREO-B. The models also predicted that the leading edge of the first CME will reach Earth at about 1:25 a.m. EST on the morning of March 8 (plus or minus 7 hours). Such a CME could result in a severe geomagnetic storm, causing aurora at low latitudes, with possible disruption to high frequency radio communication, global positioning systems (GPS), and power grids.
This movie of the March 6, 2012 X5.4 flare was captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in the 171 Angstrom wavelength. One of the most dramatic features is the way the entire surface of the sun seems to ripple with the force of the eruption. This movement comes from something called EIT waves – because they were first discovered with the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) |
Visit NASA Explorer Schools at the 2012 NSTA Conference
Link to the NES Virtual Campus home page.